Today, we are going to discuss the sense of smell in Dreams and a spiritual sense. For those of us that are familiar with dream interpretation, you may already recognize smell as representing discernment, but if you’re like me, that’s not a good enough answer. Let’s dive into the fine details about why smell is discernment.
Let’s begin with the word for smell in Hebrew. This word is ruach and reach (a variation of the word). At first glance, you may have thought, “No, you got that one wrong. That is the word for spirit, wind, or breath.” You are correct in the meaning, but incorrect in accusation of wrongness.
Ruach is a very versatile word in Hebrew. Not only does it mean spirit, breath, or wind, but it can also mean to perceive an odor, to smell, to touch, make quick understanding (understand something very quickly), or to anticipate. As we can see this gives us a very versatile understanding of what our sense of smell is supposed to be like in a spiritual sense. By analyzing the word ruach, we can determine that your spirit has at least two senses which are touch, smell, and a prophetic indicator of spiritual perception.
As I was talking about this with Brandi, we discussed how we will feel something in our spirit that something is going to happen. We feel it and we sense what that something is through prayer and we are then able to accurately determine what to expect from God. This is part of the gift discerning of spirits as well as the utilization of our spiritual senses.
This shows us that when you perceiving something in a dream that has a pleasant aroma or a not pleasant aroma, it can help you to identify from what spirit the odor is coming from. For example, one might say, “Something smells fishy,” or “Something stinks,” both of which are indicators that you perceive something is off.
With this revelation we can determine why smelling in a dream can represent discernment. However, that is not all that smell can represent in dreams. In Greek, the word used for smell is oso. This word means aroma, smell, or a savor (taste).
We see in several places in the Bible that this word oso is used to describe something that has an aromatic appeal. For example, 2: Corinthians 2:14-16, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? “
We see in this instance, that as we share the gospel of Christ we are diffusing, or spreading everywhere, the sweet aroma of the knowledge of the Lord. This creates an atmosphere that invites in the ministering spirits that are needed to help fertilize or pollinate the spiritual seeds we are planting. This can be compared to how the color and fragrance of a flower draw in bees and other insects that are needed to help produce fruit.
To us, this would represent drawing in angels to help us produce a harvest. At the same time, spreading the gospel creates an aroma that is so divine it drives away evil spirits and they liken it to death because it’s abhorrent to them. They can’t stand it because it weakens them and drives them away. This is partly why they manifest so often and try to drive evangelists away as we spread the sweet perfume of the gospel of Christ.
Philippians 4:18 tells us that our sacrifice or service to the lord is like a sweet aroma pleasing to God. Which correlated to what the angel is mixing with our prayers in Revelation 8:4. The word used in Revelation for incense is thymiamata. This word means incense and is rooted in the word thuo which means sacrifice, or offering of a slain animal. This tells us that even in Heaven the sacrifice of Jesus, plus our sacrifice, mixed with prayer and faith in the name of Jesus produces a divine concoction of supernatural power that is well-pleasing to God.
"By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see." -Acts 3:16. Even though you know have this revelation about the sense of smell from a spiritual aspect, you must intermingle this knowledge with Faith. by doing this, you will not only be able to operate in the spiritual aspect of smelling and discernment, but you will also begin to see your prayers answered quickly and effectively as you mix faith into your prayers.